United States of Kennedy

The first televised presidential debate in U.S. history took place in 1960 between then-Vice President Richard Nixon and a young, charismatic Senator named John F. Kennedy. You may have learned in high school that audiences who watched the debate on television thought JFK won, and audiences who listened on the radio thought Nixon won. But the truth is not quite that simple. To separate fact from fiction and chat about the legacy of the JFK-Nixon debate in U.S. politics, we’re joined by Craig LaMay, professor of U.S. and comparative media law at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and co-author of Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising Future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To ring in the new year, we count down the 10 most important Kennedy moments of 2025, from government corruption to media scandals to tell-all memoirs to family feuds. Happy holidays! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we welcome back Rolling Stone features director Kate Storey to chat about her 2023 book White House by the Sea, a sprawling and meticulously researched history of the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, MA. Kate walks us through the major historical moments, family events, and celebrity visits that took place in the Kennedys’ infamous vacation property, where they could be “the people we are when no one but the neighbors is looking.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America’s prince JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy were ubiquitous in ’90s New York until their tragic death in a plane crash in the summer of 1999. “In the pages of the city tabloids during those few short years, Bessette was a daily soap opera, forced into the multitude of unforgiving tropes for public women. The scheming girlfriend; the coked-up vixen; the miserable spouse,” writes journalist and author Glynnis MacNicol in Town & Country. But little is known about what Carolyn was actually like. We’re joined by MacNicol to separate fact from fiction. NOTE: This episode originally aired July 14, 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From JFK’s allegedly hat-less inauguration to Jackie’s pillbox hats, the Kennedys have always had a distinct style. But the type of fashion they’re most known for is the “classic” New England look you’re already picturing. In a word: Preppiness. We’re joined by Avery Trufelman, the host of the podcast ‘Articles of Interest’ whose 2022 series ‘American Ivy’ explored the history of preppy fashion, to investigate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.